Inventing the "American Way"

The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement

Wendy Wall

Winner of the Ellis W. Hawley Prize of the Organization of American Historians.

Winner of the Phi Alpha Theta Best First Book Award.

Inventing the "American Way"

The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement

Wendy Wall

Description

In the wake of World War II, Americans developed an unusually deep and all-encompassing national unity, as postwar affluence and the Cold War combined to naturally produce a remarkable level of agreement about the nation's core values. Or so the story has long been told. Inventing the "American Way" challenges this vision of inevitable consensus. Americans, as Wendy Wall argues in this innovative book, were united, not so much by identical beliefs, as by a shared conviction that a distinctive "American Way" existed and that the affirmation of such common ground was essential to the future of the nation. Moreover, the roots of consensus politics lie not in the Cold War era, but in the turbulent decade that preceded U.S. entry into World War II. The social and economic chaos of the Depression years alarmed a diverse array of groups, as did the rise of two "alien" ideologies: fascism and communism. In this context, Americans of divergent backgrounds and beliefs seized on the notion of a unifying "American Way" and sought to convince their fellow citizens of its merits.

Wall traces the competing efforts of business groups, politicians, leftist intellectuals, interfaith proponents, civil rights activists, and many others over nearly three decades to shape public understandings of the "American Way." Along the way, she explores the politics behind cultural productions ranging from The Adventures of Superman to the Freedom Train that circled the nation in the late 1940s. She highlights the intense debate that erupted over the term "democracy" after World War II, and identifies the origins of phrases such as "free enterprise" and the "Judeo-Christian tradition" that remain central to American political life. By uncovering the culture wars of the mid-twentieth century, this book sheds new light on a period that proved pivotal for American national identity and that remains the unspoken backdrop for debates over multiculturalism, national unity, and public values today.

Inventing the "American Way"

The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement

Wendy Wall

Table of Contents

IntroductionPart I: Enemies at Home and Abroad (1935-1941) 1: "Are We a Nation?" 2: Industrial Democracy vs. Free Enterprise 3: In Search of Common GroundPart II: The Politics of Unity during World War II (1942-1945) 4: The Spectre of "Divide and Conquer" 5: "The House I Live In"Part III: Shaping a Cold War Consensus (1946-1955) 6: United America 7: The Freedom Train 8: Crusading for Freedom at Home and Abroad Conclusion: The Limits of Consensus Notes

Inventing the "American Way"

The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement

Wendy Wall

Author Information

Wendy Wall, Assistant Professor of History, Colgate University

Inventing the "American Way"

The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement

Wendy Wall

Reviews and Awards

Winner of the Phi Alpha Theta Best First Book Award

Winner of CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, 2009

Winner of the Ellis W. Hawley Prize of the Organization of American Historians

"Wall's book is a valuable study, clearly the product of many years' work, covering a lot of ground and filled with well-considered judgments. She has gone a long way in investigating exactly how various constituencies sought to shape Americans' understanding of their own political culture in the middle years of the twentieth century." - Doug Rossinow, Reviews in American History